Civilians Are Targets in Congo

Editor's Note: This is the third story in a four-part series on the troubles in the Congo, compiled from Fox News' Steve Harrigan's first-hand reports in the war-ravaged African region.

BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo -- The curved blade of the machete (search) makes it the all-purpose African tool for grass, wood, even flesh.

Decapitated bodies are left to rot in the streets of Bunia (search) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• Video: Civilians Are Targets in Congo

One person named Udaga was left for dead as 11 family members were hacked to death around him. His bandage is changed once a day. Hospitals in the eastern part of Congo display the machete's touch -- missing arms, missing chins.

But these people are in much better shape, health workers say, than the people they don't see -- the people they can't see -- because of security.

Civilians are not just caught in the crossfire - they are the targets. They've been driven out by fighters who aim to control regional wealth.

It's extremely crowded in some parts of Bunia. The smell is horrid, there are flies everywhere, and the people have deep, rasping coughs. Tarpaulins used to cover certain areas of the town are hung extremely low, so when you walk around the area, you almost have to squat -- it forces you down right into the mud.

Human beings aren't the only ones affected by the unrest.

Prior to the wars ravaging the country, a Congolese would hunt with a rifle, kill a chimpanzee and feed his family for a week or more. Now, a person goes in with an Uzi submachine and wipes out a family of 20 chimps in a matter of seconds, selling the meat and the babies.

Some chimps are lucky enough to be rescued or confiscated, then taken to a sanctuary in Uganda run by the Jane Goodall Institute (search). For every chimp that makes it alive, keepers estimate 15 are killed in the forest.

On Ngamba Island in Uganda, the chimps have all the space to themselves and all the mangos they can eat. It's there that the chimps get better treatment than refugees.

Part 4: Hope for the future of Congo.